Mets beat Astros 3-1 behind Beltran, new closer

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HOUSTON(AP) -- With Francisco Rodriguez out for the season, the
New York Mets weren't sure who their new closer would be
entering Monday night's game.

After the performance Hisanori Takahashi delivered for his first
career save, he may have won the job.

Carlos Beltran homered and the Mets took the lead in the ninth
inning on a wild pitch by Houston closer Matt Lindstrom in a 3-1
win over the Astros.

Takahashi worked a perfect ninth, filling in as closer on the
day the Mets learned K-Rod will miss the rest of the year. The
four-time All-Star needs season-ending surgery on a torn thumb
ligament in his pitching hand sustained during a fight with his
girlfriend's father at Citi Field last week.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel said before the game that he might use
several relievers to fill the role, but after the game he said
he'd probably leave Takahashi in the position.

"Sure. Oh yeah. I think he can get it done for us," Manuel said.
"I think the key becomes resiliency. If we happen to get on a
run, how many days can he go back-to-back? I think that would be
the real key."

Takahashi, who has made 12 starts this year, said spending a
season as a closer in Japan wasn't anything like Monday's
experience.

"I thought it was kind of a brand new thing," the 35-year-old
rookie said through a translator. "Even though I did it for a
year in Japan, it's a whole different world."

Pitching for the first time since Tuesday because of a sore
back, Lindstrom (2-4) allowed a single to David Wright with one
out in the ninth before a single to right by Beltran put runners
at the corners.

Francoeur added an insurance run with an RBI triple off the
left-center fence.

"I made a couple of mistakes," Lindstrom said. "I just missed
some of my pitches. I thought I felt good. My back wasn't an
issue tonight. It's just unfortunate our guys battled all game
and I come in there and give up some hits and runs and that was
the deciding factor. It's frustrating."

Beltran was booed before and after his first-pitch solo homer to
the Crawford Boxes in left field that made it 1-0 in the fourth
inning. That wasn't the only time he was booed, with the
hometown fans voicing their displeasure with him each time he
came to bat, six years after he left the Astros to join the
Mets.

"(The) first year I was offended, but now I have to laugh,"
Beltran said. "People are saying crazy things out there, but ...
that's part of the past. I have to move forward, so I have to
turn the page and you have to turn the page also."

It was Beltran's second homer since returning to the lineup July
15 after missing the first half of the season following knee
surgery.

Chris Johnson tied it at 1 in the sixth with his two-out,
run-scoring double to right-center.

Carlos Lee doubled with one out in the eighth. The Mets
intentionally walked Johnson, the hot-hitting rookie, with two
outs before Elmer Dessens was replaced by Pedro Feliciano (3-6).

Feliciano fielded by a grounder hit by Brett Wallace, but got an
error when he dropped it, allowing Wallace to reach first. The
Mets escaped that jam when Castro flied out.

Feliciano said the entire bullpen has to step up to make up for
the loss of Rodriguez.

"It's a big hole," Feliciano said. "He's the best pitcher we
have in the bullpen and the best closer in the league. Having
him down now we have to pull for each other more. I know that we
have been a little bit weak late in the game, eighth, seventh.
But now we have to come together like today."

Wright singled before Beltran walked with no outs in the
seventh, but Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez retired the next
three Mets to get out of the inning.

Rodriguez yielded four hits and one run with six strikeouts in
seven innings.

Mets starter Jonathon Niese didn't get a decision for the third
straight start despite allowing one run in seven innings. He
also allowed just one run in seven innings in each of his last
two starts.

NOTES: Houston 2B Jeff Keppinger left with a sprained left big
toe. He'll have X-rays Tuesday. ... Astros SS Tommy Manzella, on
the disabled list since June 24 with a broken left index finger,
is hitting .364 in nine games in his rehabilitation assignment
with Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Round Rock. ... The
Astros signed third-round draft pick Austin Wates, an outfielder
from Virginia Tech. ... Wright raised his average to .292 with
three hits. He had dropped from .314 at the All-Star break to
.287 with a 21-for-103 (.204) slide.